Introduction

Band of Brothers is a 2001 American war drama miniseries based on historian Stephen E. Ambrose’s 1992 non-fiction book of the same name.

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The series was followed by The Pacific in 2010.

Outline

The series dramatises the history of “Easy” Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, of the 101st Airborne Division, from jump training in the United States through its participation in major actions in Europe, up until Japan’s capitulation and the end of World War II. The events are based on Ambrose’s research and recorded interviews with Easy Company veterans. The series took some literary license, adapting history for dramatic effect and series structure.

The characters portrayed are based on members of Easy Company. Some of the men were recorded in contemporary interviews, which viewers see as preludes to several episodes, with the men’s real identities revealed in the finale.

The title for the book and series comes from the St Crispin’s Day Speech in William Shakespeare’s play Henry V, delivered by King Henry before the Battle of Agincourt. Ambrose quotes a passage from the speech on his book’s first page; this passage is spoken by Carwood Lipton in the series finale.

Cast

• Damian Lewis as Major Richard “Dick” Winters, the show’s main character. He leads the cast for most of the episodes and is the main subject of the second episode “Day of Days”, the fifth episode “Crossroads”, and the final episode, “Points”. Hanks said the production needed a central character to tie the story together, and they believed that Damian Lewis was best for that role.
• Ron Livingston as Captain Lewis Nixon, Major Winters’ best friend and frequent confidant during the series. The ninth episode “Why We Fight” largely centres on him, dealing with his problems with alcoholism, in particular.
• Scott Grimes as Technical Sergeant Donald Malarkey
• Donnie Wahlberg as Second Lieutenant Carwood Lipton. The seventh episode “The Breaking Point” features Lipton prominently and shows the importance he played in maintaining the company’s morale.
• Kirk Acevedo as Staff Sergeant Joe Toye.
• Eion Bailey as Private First Class David Kenyon Webster. He is the main focus of the eighth episode “The Last Patrol”.
• Michael Cudlitz as Staff Sergeant Denver “Bull” Randleman. Randleman was the subject of the fourth episode, “Replacements”, which featured his escape from a German-occupied village in the Netherlands.
• Frank John Hughes as Staff Sergeant William “Wild Bill” Guarnere.
• Rick Gomez as Technician Fourth Grade George Luz.
• Dale Dye as Colonel Robert Sink.
• Neal McDonough as First Lieutenant Lynn “Buck” Compton.
• Dexter Fletcher as Staff Sergeant John “Johnny” Martin.
• Matthew Settle as Captain Ronald Speirs.
• Richard Speight, Jr. as Sergeant Warren “Skip” Muck.
• James Madio as Technician Fourth Grade Frank Perconte.
• Rene L. Moreno as Technician Fifth Grade Joseph Ramirez.
• Colin Hanks as First Lieutenant Henry S. Jones.
• Ross McCall as Technician Fifth Grade Joseph Liebgott.
• Douglas Spain as Technician Fifth Grade Antonio C. Garcia.
• David Schwimmer as Captain Herbert Sobel. He is the main subject of the first episode “Currahee”. At the Emmy Awards David Schwimmer was seated in front of Major Winters. When told that the real Major Winters was just behind him, Schwimmer turned around and said, “Major Winters, I hope I wasn’t too hard on you in the way I played Captain Sobel.” Winters replied “I assure you, he was much worse than you ever imagined.”
• Shane Taylor as Technician Fourth Grade Eugene “Doc” Roe. The sixth episode “Bastogne” features Roe’s experience as a medic during the siege of Bastogne.
• Rick Warden as First Lieutenant Harry Welsh.
• Marc Warren as Private Albert Blithe. The third episode “Carentan” focuses on him.

Band of Brother Series

• Episode 01: Currahee.
• Episode 02: Day of Days.
• Episode 03: Carentan.
• Episode 04: Replacements.
• Episode 05: Crossroads.
• Episode 06: Bastogne.
• Episode 07: The Breaking Point.
• Episode 08: The Last Patrol.
• Episode 09: Why We Fight.
• Episode 10: Points.

Production & Filming Details

• Creator(s): Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.
• Director(s): Phil Alden Robinson; Richard Loncraine; Mikael Salomon; David Nutter; Tom Hanks; David Leland; David Frankel; and Tony To.
• Producer(s): Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, Tony To, Erik Bork, Erik Jendresen, Stephen E. Ambrose, and Mary Richards.
• Writer(s): Erik Jendresen; Tom Hanks; John Orloff; E. Max Frye; Graham Yost; Bruce C. McKenna; and Erik Bork.
• Music: Michael Karmen.
• Cinematography: Remi Anderson and Joel J. Ransom.
• Editor(s): Billy Fox, Oral Norrie Ottey, Frances Parker, and John Richards.
• Production: Playtone, DreamWorks Television, and HBO Entertainment.
• Distributor(s): HBO Enterprises and Warner Bros. Television Distribution.
• Original Network: HBO.
• Release Date: 09 September 2001 to 04 November 2001.
• Running Time: 628 minutes (total running time).
• Country: US.
• Language: English.